Private Equity Insights

Insights from Private Equity Insights - 2024 Recap I believe we owe you a snapshot of 2024 so here are some standout facts from our panels across the year. Over four seasons (not the hotel 😉) and nine leading markets, we delivered nine market-defining Private Equity events: 📍 Iberia (Madrid) | 📍 Italy (Milan) | 📍 CEE (Warsaw) | 📍 Switzerland (Zurich) | 📍 UK (London) | 📍 DACH (Munich) | 📍 Nordics (Stockholm) | 📍 France (Paris) | 📍 Benelux (Amsterdam). With a total of over 4,000💥top PE professionals joining us. In late 2023, the story was dominated by low deal volumes, low valuations, and exit challenges. Fast-forward to May 2024, and the tone had shifted—new deals, successful exits, a noticeable recovery in the small- and mid-cap segments. While exit structures may be up for debate, it’s clear that market stability is returning with valuation trajectories on the upswing. Key trends? Rising secondary activity which we expect will further accelerate in 2025. Where did the capital flow in 2024? 🔹 Secondaries, Private Credit, and Infrastructure topped fundraising strategies—logical hedges against volatility 🔹 On the investment side, sectors like tech (AI and transformative technologies), consumer, healthcare, decarbonization, and energy transition led the way. What do the LPs say? When we reached out to the LP community, some key themes emerged: Thematic investments (think sustainable solutions). Managers' specialization and their track records. A laser focus on value creation Buyout funds dominated fundraising, with LPs leaning towards large, proven managers. Interestingly, while fewer funds were closed, the average fund size increased significantly, reflecting concentrated capital in top-tier managers. Family Offices significantly increased their allocations to private markets, but their focus remains heavily on co-investments and direct deals, particularly in sectors where they have deep industry expertise. Rather than chasing new opportunities, many are choosing to invest in areas where their wealth was originally generated. What is on the horizon? 🔹 More and more top managers are tapping into the private wealth segment. As this space becomes increasingly competitive, expect to see a surge in product diversification as firms race to meet the evolving demands. We’re excited to see how this plays out! 🚀 🔹 Meanwhile, an interesting trend is gaining momentum in Europe: GP stakes transactions, we saw an increased activity from GP stakers from networking halls to panels. On a regional note, the DACH and Nordics markets took the lead, followed by Iberia and CEE, as the most strategic destinations for investment activity. A heartfelt thanks to our speaker and sponsor community for making this year a super success and looking forward to continuing our collaboration in 2025. ☺️🙏 🎉✨ Happy Festive Season and a very Happy New Year to all! 🎊🥂 Wishing you joy, success, and endless opportunities in 2025! 🌟🎇

Efficient decision-making is central to driving value, but creating a structured, effective management rhythm isn’t straightforward. There’s no one-size-fits-all. Humatica‘s recent article offers practical insights on designing management control cycles to keep teams focused, agile, and aligned with their goals. Explore best practices for refining your team’s rhythm and boosting control in decision-making here: https://lnkd.in/eBTz_9FZ #PEInsights #privateequity #valuecreation #humatica

The Benelux private equity industry stands out as a fragmented yet highly specialized market within Europe, where both international and local private equity firms play pivotal roles. On the 27th of November, we hosted an exceptional VIP reception at Loyens & Loeff's stunning rooftop, indulging in exquisite Dutch delicacies. This was followed by Private Equity Insights’ prestigious Benelux Event on the 28th of November at the Hilton Amsterdam, which brought together 578 prominent figures from the industry. From thought-provoking panel discussions to dynamic networking sessions, the event was a hub of insights, connections, and opportunities. A big thanks 🙌 to Allard Ruijs, Anna Ferguson, Antoinette van der Hauw, Sander Slootweg, Michaël Maters, nathalie bruls, Gabriel Kamensky, Michael Lucassen, Dr. Angelina Pramova, CESGA®, Yannick Struijk, Richard Damming, Jeroen Heine, Zipo Lai, Freerk Smit, Lisette Barsingerhorn, Christine Kampinga, Annegien Blokpoel, Sebastiaan V., Cillian King, Markus Langner, Adrian Pawelec, William Van Eastern, Jeroen Cornel, Joost Mioch, CFA, Rachel Matharu, Rikkert Beerekamp, Karina G. Shevchenko, Frederic Huynen, Ragnar Jongen, François Candelon, Nityen Lal, Jesse de Klerk, Jaap, Strengers, Arjan Blok, Frans Tieleman, Wojciech Stramski, Renaud Besancon, Wojciech Jezierski, Octavius Mihaies, Frederic Lammens, Torge Barkholtz, Maximilien Job, CFA, Vincent Braams, Erik Fuchs, Geraldine O'Keeffe, Daniel Rygg, Brigitte van der Maarel, Rist Brouwer, Serkan Alhan, Stephan Wessel, Roman Hürlimann, Christophe Nicolas, Christiaan DeLint, Tjarda Molenaar. Many thanks for amazing photography Charles Bambos Demetriou

Organizational effectiveness is key to driving value creation. With rising capital costs and longer hold periods, aligning structures, processes, and people is critical for success. Humatica's AI-enabled toolkit empowers PE firms to enhance decision-making and agility, enabling superior performance and sustainable value growth across their portfolio. Learn how innovative AI-tools are reshaping organizational effectiveness here: https://lnkd.in/eAaUfqrC #PEInsights #privateequity #valuecreation #humatica #AItools

LFPI présent lors de la conférence Private Equity Insights à Paris ! Nous sommes ravis d'annoncer que notre collaborateur Aurélien Lequertier a représenté LFPI avec brio lors d’une table ronde dédiée à la thématique "Fundraising : Now & Beyond in Private Equity" à la conférence Private Equity Insights qui s’est tenue à Paris. Accompagné par Maximilien Job, CFA, ainsi que Julien Leleu et Thomas Bigagli, Aurélien Lequertier a partagé ses idées et a discuté des tendances actuelles et des perspectives futures dans le secteur du private equity. Un grand merci aux organisateurs, Sebastian Tollak et Hasan Qaiser, d'avoir fait de cet événement un véritable succès, et à tous les participants et collègues pour leurs discussions inspirantes ! #LFPI #PrivateEquity #Conférence #Innovation #CollecteDeFonds #Événement

Last week, Pierre Estrade, Partner, and Head of Cinven’s French Regional team, participated in a panel on "Future Challenges and Opportunities in French Private Equity" at the Private Equity Insights Paris Conference. Pierre joined industry peers for a thoughtful discussion on the evolving relationship between private equity firms and the management teams they support, as well as the future trajectory of the industry. The panel explored how French private equity can navigate an increasingly complex landscape and strategically position itself for sustainable growth and success in the years to come.

I was delighted to moderate the panel on growth investment opportunities in France at Private Equity Insights last week with Hillel Zidel, Gabriel Kamensky and Bernard-Louis Roques. The panelists highlighted the attractiveness of the growth investment market (venture, late stage or growth buyout) and more specifically the B2B SaaS and fintech segments with a high number of investment opportunities showing however a dispersion in terms of quality. They shared their views on key investment criteria and valuation approaches, and explained how growth-oriented valuations are increasingly being rebalanced in favor of profitability. Finally, they emphasized that data-driven tools today offer enormous leverage (if powered by proprietary data!) to improve sourcing efficiency, build high-conviction investment theses and create long-term operational value. Thank you Gentlemen for this fruitful discussion and for your valuable insight (far from conventional speech😊)! Sagard Sagard Europe #saas #growthbuyout

[#Buyout] Navigating top sectors and commercial excellence for growth 🌍 Last week, Amandine Ayrem, Managing Director - Mid-Large Buyout, and Guillaume de Montchalin, Managind Director - Portfolio Performance - Small-mid buyout, shared their perspectives on key investment themes and approaches for sustainable value creation at Private Equity Insights Paris, France's biggest industry event: ✅ Top Sectors in the Current Investment Environment Amandine highlighted how today's competitive landscape calls for building strong convictions around long-term trends rather than following market momentum. Our MLBO team applies this strategy, leveraging the investment flywheel to target three high-potential sectors: Financial Services, Tech-Enabled and Business Services, and Life Sciences. 📈 Growth Through Commercial Excellence Guillaume emphasized the unique value that private equity can generate. By systematically focusing on topline growth, we continue to deliver sustained value regardless of market conditions—ensuring growth in both robust economic climates and more uncertain periods. At Eurazeo, our MLBO and SMBO apply these two strategies: conviction-driven investments in sectors we master, and value-adding operational support with a bias for growth and long-term value creation. A big thank you to our peers for inspiring discussions! Jean-François Félix, Frans Tieleman, Ulf Avrin, François Candelon 📸 Unmask Photography #PrivateEquity #Growth #PrivateEquityInsights

🌟 Insightful discussions at Private Equity Insights! 🌟   Our partner, Caroline Folleas joined a dynamic panel on "The future of French Private Equity : what are the challenges and opportunities?” alongside Nils Laurent from Bpifrance. Together, they explored the evolutions and transformations happening within the private equity landscape.   Caroline shared her view on the value of deep sectorial specialization and proactive support in operational value creation, to convince entrepreneurs to partner with PE firms and LPs to invest in our funds.   A big thank you to Private Equity Insights for bringing together industry leaders to share and shape the future of investment!   #PrivateEquity #FrenchMarket #FutureOpportunities #InvestmentLeadership

Really enjoyed participating in the growth equity panel at the Private Equity Insights Conference last week with Agnès Huyghues Despointes, Bernard-Louis Roques and Gabriel Kamensky Sharing my take on the current state of growth equity in SaaS: - Growth vs. Profitability: Growth is still the key driver for value being worth around 3x profit. But at exit, you need to be around breakeven. Managed burn during investment is fine, but you want to end in the black. - SaaS Valuations: Right now, we’re seeing a very, very wide dispersion in ARR multiples. - Key Market Themes; Largelly driven cost savings and simplification platforms are showing more defensibility than point solutions. If you’re a point solution, you need to be very sticky and mission-critical. - AI: we’re moving from “AI sprinkles…” to “show me the money”. - Having an Angle: Investing in B2B SaaS alone isn’t an angle. Real differentiation is essential to compete. - Right Here, Right Now: Is a great time to be building a B2B SaaS business! 💥💥💥 —- I invest in capital efficient and bootstrapped B2B SaaS companies at the growth stage (>$3 million ARR) so if that’s you - reach out! Kennet Partners #Growth #Bootstrapping #SaaS #VC